Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 76.djvu/87

 76 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 87-420-MAR. 20, 1962

39

filed such information in good faith, on the description and annual report forms prepared by the Secretary and in conformity with the instructions of the Secretary issued under this Act regarding the filing of such forms. Such a defense, if established, shall be a bar to the action or proceeding, notwithstanding that (A) after such act or omission, such interpretation or opinion is modified or rescinded or is determined by judicial authority to be invalid or of no legal effect, or (B) after publishing or filing the description and annual reports, such publication or filing is determined by judicial authority not to be in conformity with the requirements of this Act. "BONDING

"SEC. 13. (a) Every administrator, officer, and employee of any employee welfare benefit plan or of any employee pension benefit plan subject to this Act who handles funds or other property of such plan shall be bonded as herein provided; except that, where such plan is one under which the only assets from which benefits are paid are the general assets of a union or of an employer, the administrator, officers and employees of such plan shall be exempt from the bonding requirements of this section. The amount of such bond shall be fixed at the beginning of each calendar, policy, or other fiscal year, as the case may be, which constitutes the reporting year of such plan. Such amount shall be not less than 10 per centum of the amount of funds handled, determined as herein provided, except that any such bond shall be in at least the amount of $1,000 and no such bond shall be required in an amount in excess of $500,000: Provided, That the Secretary, after due notice and opportunity for hearing to all interested parties, and after consideration of the record, may prescribe an amount in extess of $500,000, which in no event shall exceed 10 per centum of the funds handled. For purposes of fixing the amount of such bond, the amount of funds handled shall be determined by the funds handled by the person, group, or class to be covered by such bond and by their predecessor or predecessors, if any, during the preceding reporting year, or if the plan has no preceding reporting year, the amount of funds to be handled during the current reporting year by such person, group, or class, estimated as provided in regulations of the Secretary. Such bond shall provide protection to the plan against loss by reason of acts of fraud or dishonesty on the part of such administrator, officer, or employee, directly or through connivance -with others. Any bond shall have as surety thereon a corporate surety company which is an acceptable surety on Federal bonds under authority granted by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to the Act of July 30, 1947 (6 U.S.C. 6-13). Any bond shall be in a form or of a type approved by the Secretary, including individual bonds or schedule or blanket forms of bonds which cover a group or class. " (b) I t shall be unlawful for any administrator, officer, or employee to whom subsection (a) applies, to receive, handle, disburse, or otherwise exercise custody or control of any of the funds or other property of any employee welfare benefit plan or employee pension benefit plan, without being bonded as required by subsection (a) and it shall,be unlawful for any administrator, officer, or employee of such plan, or any other person having authority to direct the performance of such functions, to permit such functions, or any of them, to be performed by any such person, with respect to whom the requirements of subsection (a) have not been met. "(c) I t shall be unlawful for any person to procure any bond required by subsection (a) from any surety or other company or through

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